Step into a relaxed and welcoming space for conversation, ideas, and art. Over wine, hear from leading voices in their field as they unpack Discovering the Impressionist and key works from the Geelong Gallery Collection. See the exhibition and come ready to share your thoughts and enjoy direct, open dialogue with our hand-picked experts.

Jane Clark: Sunday 26 July 3.00-4.00pm

Jane Clark is a curator and art historian, writer and lecturer. She joined Mona—Australia’s largest private museum—in 2007, during the initial planning phase, having been Curator of Major Special Exhibitions in both international and Australian art at the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne and then Deputy Chairman of Sotheby’s in Australia.

A graduate of Melbourne University and the Courtauld Institute, London University, she was a Harkness Fellow at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1988–90. At the NGV she was responsible for exhibitions including The Great 18th Century Exhibition, Golden Summers: Heidelberg and beyond and Sidney Nolan: Landscapes and legends. She continues to research and write on 19th and 20th-century Australian art, especially in its wider international context.

Laurie Benson: Sunday 9 August 3.00-4.00pm

Laurie Benson was Curator of International Art at the National Gallery of Victoria for over 20 years until his retirement in 2025. His department cared for the NGV’s collection of 19th century French painting and sculpture. He also worked on many exhibitions including, The Impressionists, Salvador Dali Liquid Desire, Cinema India, the Art of Bollywood, and Monet’s Garden. He curated Medieval Moderns: The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood and was co-curator of the exhibition Horse. He has published widely on works in the NGV collection. His last show at the NGV was Cats and Dogs in 2025.

Roger Benjamin: Sunday 30 August 3.00-4.00pm

Roger Benjamin, Emeritus Professor of Art History, has taught French art for many years at the Universities of Melbourne and Sydney. His publications include Orientalist Aesthetics: Art, Colonialism and French North Africa (Berkeley, 2003); Renoir and Algeria (Princeton, 2003); “Why did Matisse love late Renoir?” in Renoir in the 20th Century (LACMA, 2010); and “Arthur Streeton’s Venice” in Arthur Streeton (AGNSW 2022).

*Ticket includes one glass of wine or beer.

**Image credit: Roger Benjamin supplied

Contact the host of Arts Dialogue Series | Discovering the Impressionists